Extensive content. Wide variety of activities. Many speech-recognition features.
Learning lacks structure. Exasperating input problems with speech-recognition technology.
TELL ME MORE provides a highly customizable language-learning experience that gives students a lot of tools, but not a lot of support. Intermediate- to advanced-level speakers might find it a valuable resource, but beginners will not.
TELL ME MORE ($199 for a three-month Web pass, direct) language-learning software offers powerful speech recognition, expansive content, and the most varied options for interacting with that content of all the language programs I've tested. That may sound great, but for beginners, it's overwhelming because most of the learning is put directly in the students' hands, without enough assistance to help them along. I can't imagine making use of Tell Me More unless I were an intermediate- or advanced-level speaker of a language, looking to brush up specific skills. For business people who need to finesse the art of negotiating, or advanced speakers looking to perfect idiom usage and prepositional phrases, Tell Me More is stellar. For novices, it's futile. I explained this to a colleague, and he said, "So, it's language-learning software that's only good if you already speak the language?" In a word, yes.
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Learning a new language can be frustrating and challenging. Tell Me More doesn't do enough to lessen the challenges. Eager language students who shun the classroom experience and gravitate toward self-paced, self-taught, figure-it-out-yourself learning will have a field day with Tell Me More because it provides all the tools they need. What it doesn't provide is a step-by-step frameworkbaby stepsto support the process. Beginners will have a much happier and productive experience with Editors' Choice RocketLanguages ($99.95 online-only access, direct, 4 stars), especially if they enjoy listening to real people talk them through what's being taught.
Rosetta Stone TOTALe 4 ($249 for Level 1, direct 4 stars), another Editors' Choice, is a solid choice for beginners, too, especially more kinesthetic and visual learners.
Languages Offered and Purchasing Process
Tell Me More is available for nine languages: Spanish, French, German, Italian, English, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic. Most are offered in several packages, from a three-month Web pass ($199) to 10-level bundles ($529), although Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic have only one (three-level DVD-ROM pack for $299).
The online purchasing experience is straightforward. You can browse packages by language, or click "Find the solution that fits your needs" from the homepage to drill down based on your goals: personal enrichment, homeschool, travelers, professionals, and so forth. An option for Mac users to see only what's offered for their computer is a welcome touch.
Putting Tell Me More to the Test
I tested Tellmemore's Web pass (Italian and English) and DVD-ROM software (Italian). I chose Italian because I had no prior knowledge of the language. During the same four-week period that I used Tellmemore, I also studied Italian using RocketLanguages. I also looked at the English program (my mother tongue) for both, which is how I came to the conclusion that Tell Me More offers excellent content for advanced speakers.
Tellmemore's big selling point is its speech recognition technology. It's used throughout the program in a variety of ways, and provides numerous points of feedback. The most basic implementation goes like this: The program shows a written word, provides an audio file so the user can hear the word, and shows a waveform graph of the word being spoken. Next, the user gets a shot at saying the word. Her speech is recorded, outputted to a waveform graph as well, and played back. Another feedback tool marks how well the user matched the correct pronunciation. The learner can repeat the process as many times as she likes.
I had persistent problems with the speech recognition tools. Even with a fast and wired Internet connection and a USB headset with attached microphone, both the Web and DVD-ROM versions of Tell Me More constantly would not record the first half second of whatever I said. On playback, the beginning of almost every word was cut off. "Marzo" sounded like "artzo," and "brutto" came out like "uto," every time, no matter how long I made a machinegun "brrrr" at the front of the word. (No one within earshot was impressed.) I spent at least 45 minutes over the course of several sessions adjusting the microphone's settings, my computer's settings, and the program's scoring systemyou can adjust it from "easy" to "difficult." After some frustration in Italian, I switched to the English language program and tried completing a few exercises in my native language. I was now scoring about 30 percent, and even when my pronunciation was marked correct, the playback still wasn't smooth most of the time, with noticeable stutters in the recording.
It's worth noting that I had no problems at all with RosettaStone's speech recognition software using the same hardware and configurations.
Many of the speech recognition features are bells and whistles without real substance for an average user. For example, some pages contain videos of animated talking heads (see the slideshow) showing front and side views of the mouth and tongue movements that the speaker should replicate. Unless you're a speech and language specialist, or have a master's degree in linguistics, these videos don't provide anything useful.